Winter sports - Researchers: Winter vacations are not going under
Despite rising temperatures and decreasing amounts of snow, Alpine winter holiday resorts are not threatened with a premature end to their business in the coming years. The vast majority of ski resorts will be able to continue operating with the help of snow cannons despite advancing climate change, and other forms of winter tourism are also gaining in importance. This is indicated by both scientific studies and assessments from the vacation industry.
"It's horror stories that we will no longer have winter tourism," says Munich-based tourism researcher Jürgen Schmude. "Winter sports tourism will become less important, but winter tourism as such will not."
The past winter of 2022/23 was so bleak that the local ski resort in Lenggries, Bavaria, had to temporarily cease operations in January due to a lack of snow. Nevertheless, the evidence does not suggest that inflation, the mood of crisis or fear of a lack of snow are deterring holidaymakers.
"You always have to look at the individual case, but we will probably see a spatial concentration process in larger and higher-lying resorts, while it will be difficult for lower-lying ski resorts," says tourism researcher Schmude.
In August of this year, an international group of scientists published a much-noticed study according to which climate change is exacerbating the problems of ski resorts - both in and outside the Alps - with snow, water supply and energy consumption.
"Assuming that 50 percent of all ski resorts have snowmaking capability, 3 percent of the 294 Austrian ski resorts included in the study have a very high snow supply risk at plus 2 degrees Celsius," says Judith Köberl from Joanneum Graz, one of the authors.
"For the Alps as a whole, the proportion at plus 2 degrees amounts to 9 percent of the 915 ski resorts considered."
Ski Arlberg Austrian research project on winter snow cover in the Alps Garmisch "Classic" ski resort Scientific article: "Climate change exacerbates snow-water-energy challenges for European ski tourism" In: Nature Climate Change 13, 935-942 (2023)
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- Despite concerns about climate change and decreasing snowfall, Jürgen Schmude, a tourism researcher based in Munich, believes that winter tourism as a whole will not disappear.
- In contrast to some alarmist predictions, winter sports tourism may become less dominant, but other forms of winter tourism are on the rise.
- The turn of the year is approaching, and despite the challenges faced by ski resorts due to climate change, many German Alpine resorts are planning for another successful winter tourism season.
- According to a report published in August by an international group of scientists, climate change is exacerbating the problems of ski resorts, not just in the Alps, but around the world.
- Munich-based tourism researcher Jürgen Schmude predicts that larger and higher-lying ski resorts will benefit from a spatial concentration process, while lower-lying resorts may struggle.
- The past winter in Bavaria was particularly challenging for ski resorts, with the local resort in Lenggries temporarily closing due to a lack of snow.
- Jürgen Schmude, the tourism researcher, believes that while climate change is a concern for ski resorts, many resorts have the ability to make snow with snow cannons, allowing them to continue operating during periods of low snowfall.
- Switzerland and Austria, well-known winter vacation destinations in the Alps, have also been impacted by climate change, but both countries are actively working to adapt their winter resorts to the new environmental conditions.
- Despite the challenges posed by climate change, the demand for winter vacations remains strong, with many tourists looking for unique winter sports experiences and leisure opportunities.
- While winters may not be as snowy as they once were, the rise of winter tourism in regions like Bavaria, the Alps, Austria, and Switzerland shows that winter vacation destinations can still provide enjoyable experiences for tourists, even in the face of climate change.
Source: www.stern.de
